Apps that Supercharge the Cloud

Cloud computing has clearly changed the technology landscape. Most users are familiar with the decreased storage costs and productivity gains found in cloud solutions, but there are other, more subtle ways cloud platforms take advantage of the efficiencies of the Internet.

One of the most liberating aspects of adopting a cloud solution for hosting your data is that you are never tied to one installed, desktop solution, but choose the best of breed solutions for getting the job done. Like any revolutionary technology, powerful tools are available to maximize the benefits of the cloud and make them more accessible to the everyday user. For example, Cloudberry is a user interface for Amazon’s S3 tool meant to make cloud computing more accessible to corporations and individuals.

Nextpoint builds on Amazon Web Services S3, which stands for Simple Storage Service. S3 is designed to give developers a simple interface that can be used to store and retrieve any amount of data from anywhere on the web. S3 is a highly scalable, reliable, secure and fast data housing infrastructure that Amazon uses to run its own global network of web sites.

Because clients looking to move to the cloud need a fast and easy way to get their data there, Nextpoint’s software developers have developed a back-end data transfer option to work with S3. Nextpoint’s importer can be pointed towards a particular S3 folder and quickly import data. S3 is powerful and secure, but, as it’s built for developers, there is no easy user interface for the everyday user, making moving data to S3 and managing folders on S3 very tricky.

The power of the cloud is that there are a number of tools available for importing data to S3 and other platforms. Nextpoint’s preferred solution is Cloudberry. Cloudberry does not house, index or image your data. It is simply an interface to transfer your data to Amazon S3. Cloudberry allows the user to drag and drop many files into an S3 folder at once – the transfer will run in the background, freeing up the user and computer to do other work.

Cloudberry is simple to use and comes with an installer wizard for easy set up. If your firm prevents employees from downloading and installing programs, your IT department can assist you. Users tied to traditional, in-house litigation solutions have only one solution for importing and exporting data, and it’s rarely easy to use. But the combined power of Amazon, Nextpoint, and Cloudberry staff and resources make it possible for even non-technical legal staff to quickly upload data. And that power is just one more way cloud technology is solving data management issues in complex litigation.